Halo: Sniper Chronicles
by The Italian
Summary: Elite. 7-Foot-8 inches. Armor blue, Ultra class. Probable male. Range 1,945 yards. Pattern of movement, west, approaching Charlie team defense fortification. Wind speed 12 MPH. "Forgive me lord for I have sinned". Throughout history snipers have gained both an important role and honor through their actions. For Sergeant Hernandez he doesn't care about that nonsense, only revenge
1. Chapter 1

**Space.**

Full of mysteries clouded in the unforgiving darkness. Planets unexplored outside of the mapped star system that could be harboring something invaluable. Like some sort of weapon that could destroy those Covenant bastards. A weapon that could put an end to this blood soaked war, hopefully one that would end with Humanity on the winner side.

"That's bullshit" Admiral Mikhailovich chuckled at the slightest idea of a weapon that could wipe out the Covenant war machine. But hey, a man can dream can't he? In all honesty it would take something like a big super weapon to stop the Covenant. But don't let the admiralty board hear him confess that. What would the men under his command of the rear fleet think if they heard their superior had no confidence in their efforts?

Mikhailovich pushed the thought of possible imprisonment for treason out of his mind as he continued to stare at the darkness of space. This didn't start out at first, the lack of confidence in his own kind. For years, He was a Captain of a Halcyon class frigate, UNSC Touch of Light. He commanded dozens of battles, both space and ground warfare. When it came to sending the Marines ground side the battles between the two sides were almost identical. Not one side had a large advantage, which was until the Spartans were sent in.

A small chill rocked his spine at the thought of those destroying machines. Large metal monsters that obliterated anything the Covenant threw at them. Brave men and women that took the ultimate pledge, trained to be more efficient than 3 squads of elite ODST's. They followed protocol and eddicate to the _'T'_ never a problem with successfully completing the orders given to them. The perfect soldier. With the Spartans leading the charge for Humanity, the Admiralty board thought that the tables could easily be flipped. And they were… at least for ground warfare.

Space. Oh man… The total amount of frigates destroyed, both civilian and military, were in the hundreds. So many people were killed without having any sort of way to escape it. The Covenant cruisers fired their plasma charges which ate away at the shields followed by the hull. The weaponry stationed on the enemy cruisers were just too much for any Human based shield to handle. The fire that erupted within the ship was just too much to watch. Mikhailovich had seen enough ships blown up to last him a few lifetimes. Every time he tried to sleep or even close his eyes, the picture of flaming ships and floating debris would cause his eyelids to snap back open.

The 54 year old Admiral sighed in disgust as he ran his warm, clammy hands through what was left of his brown hair. _'All this talk about the past is pissing me off'_. With a quick push off with his legs the rolling chair did a 180 facing his desk and rather small office. The desk was made of a nice oak wood that was painted a deep blue, he had to pull a few strings to get this through security clearance. His office in question was painted the same color as his desk along with two metal chairs on the opposite side of his desk.

Primarily used for scheduled visitors or business meetings. That was it. Kind of boring right? What were you expecting some sort of bachelor pad with a couch, a TV and a coffee machine? Yet again a man can dream can't he?

Mikhailovich opened the top drawer and smiled at his favorite items in the galaxy. Now its question time. What do Admirals, who don't go out in the field anymore, do when they are either extremely bored or annoyed at something? Well there are two answers but Mikhailovich already quit drinking because it was bad for him. He pulled out a box of cigars and took a long smell of the box, like smoking was any better for him.

These cigars were made and shipped straight from Earth. Almost hundred times better than any cigar made in the colonies. Without the war going on these boxes of cigars were extremely hard to purchase. Either the prices for a single box would be too outrageous or would be sold out. The only way he was able to get his sweaty hands on this 6 pack of prestigious smoke ware was to do multiple favors and use his position as Admiral to _'convince' _the makers to just let him _'borrow'_ one.

Water was now falling freely from the mouth of rear Admiral Mikhailovich. He opened the box, slowly slid one of the specimens out and placed it firmly in his mouth. It was already precut for him and ready to smoke immediately. Of course, with his crummy luck the matches were in the back of the small rectangular box. It took a minute or two to finally shake a match out and just as he was about to light it another distraction showed up.

"Sir I believe Doctor Gordon said that you should no longer be inhaling toxic fumes from those cigars". A small terminal on top of the oak desk was no longer empty like it had been a few seconds ago. A pink light was now engulfing the darkness of his private office as an AI stood there, her hands placed firmly on her hips and right foot tapping.

"God Dammit Elena, if I wanted a woman nagging me the whole day then I would hire my wife to be my receptionist". The smart AI smirked as she let go of her hips, allowing the white lab coat she was 'wearing' to return to its normal position. The AI, Elena, liked to wear the scientist get up with the lab coat, clipboard in hand, glasses, blue jeans and hair tied into a ponytail.

"I'm sorry Admiral but its Doc's orders". Elena started to write down some notes on her clipboard and promptly closed the pen and placed it in her coat pocket once finished. Mikhailovich sighed in annoyance, she was right. During a screening two weeks ago the doc may have found a type of cancer in the Admiral's lung. It was unclear at the time if it was indeed cancer and even if it wasn't Doctor Gordon used that as strong desire to stop him from continuing to smoke.

With a slight twitch of hesitation and pure anger he threw the unlit cigar back into his desk, slamming it shut harder than usual. "Happy?"

"Technically Admiral it is impossible for a computer to feel such a thing as happiness, but-"Elena stopped mid-sentence and decided that words weren't needed at the moment only a nod of the head. "Anyway Admiral continuing on with your scheduled appointment today-"

"I don't have a scheduled appointment today?" never before in his years of service had Mikhailovich see an Artificial Intelligence actually rub her temples as if she was trying not to yell. It was actually kind of amusing to see, he almost smirked. Almost.

"Yes you do. Remember? The uh, spotter for Sergeant Hernandez".

Mikhailovich cringed at the mention of that specific, well he liked to call him more of a piece of work then human. "When his FLEETCOM going to learn that this guy is dangerous" the whisper tone was more of just to say to himself but of course his sneaky AI heard his statement.

"According to the military records, Sergeant Hernandez he could possibly be the most accurate and deadly sniper in the entire UNSC. With a total of 3,458 confirmed kills in a span of 6 years of service. But-"

"The man is a wild card" Mikhailovich cut in by slamming a folder onto his desk. "According to the Navy every sniper is partnered with a trained spotter. Even with his accuracy, Hernandez was assigned a spotter, and you know what happened?" Pulling open a 2nd drawer, Mikhailovich grabbed 4 files and threw them out one by one for the AI to see. "They were all killed in action."

**"Private James Shumaker"** he read off the first file, a small picture located in the top left corner. A 21 year old pale Irish man with brown hair, cut in a buzz of course, was smiling with his blue eyes. Full of life. "During an assassination attempt on a high valued Zealot class Elite. Both Private Shumaker and Sergeant Hernandez were forced to make an extremely quick retreat after successfully neutralizing the target. The enemy were hot on their trail. This is where it gets good. According to the pilot of Pelican Zulu 418, Sergeant Hernandez was 200 feet from the entrance to the Pelican when he stopped running, turned and started firing back at the trailing Covenant. This also caused Private Shumaker to stop his retreat and try to convince Hernandez to get in the Pelican. 4 plasma rounds successfully made contact with Private Shumaker's chest, killing him almost instantly."

Mikhailovich let loose a small curse and placed the folder down. "When Sergeant Hernandez was questioned about his actions he simply replied with _'the enemy was trailing us too close, I had to neutralize several forces advancing before the Pelican could safely take off'_. Bullshit, the pilot of Zulu 418 said that he could have easily taken off."

The anger was rising in the seasoned war Admiral. The last thing he wanted to do was send off a good ODST who could help fight the war, die because the lack of Sergeant Hernandez caring for his partners. I mean didn't FLEETCOM or HIGHCOM look at the reports filed for the deaths of these men and women. "Here's another example."

This time he grabbed the last file, or more known as the latest casualty.** "Corporal Emilia Murphy"** this time a picture of a 26 year old white woman with black hair tied into a ponytail, a hat a top her head, with a neutral expression on her face. Portraying her menacing grey eyes. "Another Assassination job. This time one of those ugly ass Brute Chieftans was the target. A supposed meeting was held place in a city on the planet Kralin. The team set up shop in the tallest building and just like every other assassination before this, it was a success. And just like every spotter before Corporal Murphy something happened. The acknowledgment for a confirmed kill came over the comm line and it was after only a single shot. Yet again another eye witness testimony from 3-Delta-3, a Hornet pilot said he heard 8 total shots fired from the weapon. Seven other shots that more than likely killed seven more Covenant forces, at the same time giving away their position."

Mikhailovich felt more humid then he did a minute ago. He stood from his roll chair and returned to facing the black void known as space. "A single banshee were on them in a matter of seconds. Plasma torpedo struck the floor they were hiding on. Corporal Emilia Murphy was caught in the heat of explosion, her skin melted off of her bones and eventually melted her brain, killing her in the most painful and slowest way possible. No fucking body to send back to her husband and 4 children." With an extreme heightened amount of anger, that would give most of the men his age chest pains, he threw the folder down on the desk in disgust and hatred.

"And you want to know what he fucking said after getting checked out by the doctors, which by the way he didn't get a single scratch on him." he was asking the AI while at the same time he was sort of asking himself. Elena nodded, already knowing everything that happened but the Admiral looked as though he needed to get this off his chest. "He said _'I was able to spot seven more high ranking Covenant and I took it upon my judgment to neutralize them before letting them get away.'_ well you know what Elena? He can shove his judgment straight up his armored ass. This guy doesn't give a shit about anything. Disobeying orders, failing to saluting his superiors, no respect and doesn't care what happens to his fellow marines around him. All he cares about is himself and in my opinion war is no place for people like him."

The rant finally ended as Mikhailovich started to feel the sweat droplets roll down his forehead. He wiped a few off and felt how hot his skin felt to the touch. Damn how mad was he?

The anger started to subside at last, returning to his seat he added a little more. "Mark my words Elena, if he didn't have that kill count the admiralty board would have forcefully booted his ass out of the UNSC."

Mikhailovich couldn't believe the words he was about to say but he had to. During his cool down he noticed that Elena had copied the file of the new spotter to his terminal and the first words he saw were _'recommended by Lord Hood'_. If the head of the Admiralty board was personally recommending this person, then he had no choice to assign this person._ 'Sorry bastard'_

"You know what to do Elena". The AI disappeared as it went to inform the person that was patiently waiting in the waiting room that she could now see the Admiral.

30 seconds of silence were broken as the door at the opposite end of the room slid open. In entered a lone soul, immediately saluting Mikhailovich and standing at attention.

"Sergeant Catherine Hill". A white woman standing at a solid 5-foot-7 simply nodded her head in response. She wore a white t-shirt which was usually used for working out in the ships gym with a pair of black combat pants and black combat boots. Her blonde hair was tied into a ponytail and olive green eyes seemed to stare into the soul of Admiral Mikhailovich. A pair of dog tags hung loosely from her neck and in between her C- cup breasts, the interesting thing was she was wearing a second pair of tags, not just hers.

A more energetic Sergeant for sure. Always feeling like she should be doing something, even when she was on leave for a few days. Sitting down for five minutes seemed to be something she didn't like to do. Why would she like to relax when there was a war going on? If anything something as monotonous as leave time kind of ticked her off.

ODST's were trained to fight whenever, without much sleep especially. Her comrades didn't seem to understand where she was coming from. They said leave time was so their bodies could recharge after battles and it also gave them time to either video call or write home. Catherine didn't have a family to write to unfortunately, like most her parents were taken from her by none other than the Covenant. There was a long story behind it but now wasn't the time to remember such a thing, actually in general it wasn't a good thing to remember ever.

"First of all I would like to send my sincerest regards for your last partner, Lieutenant Emmerson will be missed dearly."

"Thank you Admiral" Catherine looked down at the second pair of dog tags and started to fiddle with the piece of metal. "We were a team for four years, I'm still trying to believe that he's been dead for two weeks now". She gave her most sincere smile at the memories she shared with her partner. They could without a doubt have the most kills as a sniper team in the entire UNSC. She checked the records and the duo had recorded about 1,897 confirmed kills, something no other team could ever dream of doing.

"Well sorry to sound a little harsh Sergeant but it's time to start believing, you're being paired up again." Mikhailovich, regrettably, slid the folder for Sergeant Hernandez to the other side of the table. In a flash Catherine picked up the yellow folder.

First she noticed the name on the front, Sergeant Edward Hernandez. A picture was not clipped in the corner like usual with every military record folder. There was a slight twinge of confusion, but Catherine brushed it off as nothing and opened the folder. Intent on learning about her new partner for the foreseeable future. A single page was the only thing present. And it only took 20 seconds for her to read the whole profile. What the hell?

"Uh sir, I think something is wrong with this profile. There's barely anything in it. All it says is height: 6-Foot-5. Hair color: Black. Eye color: Hazel. Then the last thing is age: 30."

"No that seems about write Sergeant". Mikhailovich enjoyed the dumbfounded look on Sergeant Hill and decided it was time to tell her everything he knew about him. In fact he only knew a little more not much at all. "You see when Sergeant Hernandez enlisted into the ODST drill camp he was asked for the reason of him joining the war. His answer was the same each time, dead silence. He didn't speak a single word the entire time and despite distancing himself from the rest of his platoon and close squad mates, he was the highest efficient cadet in that graduation class."

"As a second note once he received his armor and helmet it never came off again. Sergeant Hernandez became so engrossed in fighting the enemy that he kept on his protective suit 24/7. In all honesty only a handful people alive today knows if Sergeant Hernandez actually has black hair, hazel eyes and is even the age of 30."

Catherine didn't have anything to say at the moment. Learning that the man she was being paired up with sounded like an insane person didn't help calm her nerves. If he didn't take off his helmet and other shit how did he do something as simple as eating or bathing?

"Despite all of this, Sergeant Hernandez has the record for most confirmed kills in the entire Navy, outside of the Spartans of course." Upon hearing that, Catherine's perspective of the man named Sergeant Hernandez changed entirely. "His number is 3,458 kills and counting as we speak."

This possible creep had 3,458 kills!? How the hell has she never heard of the guy before? A man with that many kills should have been spread over the entire Navy. His name would have been swirling around faster than a hurricane. Catherine was entirely intrigued now.

"Looking at the statistics is only half the battle. Normally it would be good for a sniper duo to know almost everything about each other but, in this case I barely know much about Sergeant Hernandez. There is one thing though, flip the page around." Catherine did as she was told and flipped it to see another name.

"Becky?" she said out loud to herself.

"That was almost all over his equipment during his first year of missions. That name doesn't come up with anything in the database but I assume that this _'Becky'_ was of great importance to Sergeant Hernandez. Which may be the fire that's been fueling his efforts in the war."

Catherine stared at the name scribbled down. This was the only clue to anything in Sergeant Hernandez's life. It was a start at least, even if it's an incredibly small start.

"Now that the small introductory is out of the way, I'm going to deploy you to his position effective immediately". Mikhailovich brought up the screen on his terminal and started to write out commands for the hangar to prep a transport ship. "Sergeant Hernandez is currently stationed on the Destroyer UNSC Heaven on Earth. A colony planet by the name of Articus IV is currently under Covenant invasion."

Catherine felt her blood boil to insane temperatures at the mention of the Covenant. "Lord Hood has directed me to send two Halcyon-class cruisers and a Marathon class heavy cruiser to help fortify the space defenses while the ground troops work to evacuate the civilians. I have already contacted the Captain of the Marathon class cruiser, UNSC Hannibal. He has agreed to let you stay on board for the ride."

Catherine nodded and saluted Mikhailovich, to which he happily returned. She seemed like a very nice girl and she had to have been extremely good at her job if she was given the rank of Sergeant at the age of 22. It's too bad what the reality of her being paired up with Sergeant Hernandez would bring. He found it better not to tell her of his past spotters and not get her all nervous before meeting the man in question.

"You are dismissed Sergeant. I wish you the best of luck with your new partnership." Catherine turned and began to walk through the door when she heard her name and turned back to the Admiral while standing in the door way.

"I forgot about one last thing. If you really want to find Sergeant Hernandez then you need to ask the marines using his nickname."

"His nickname sir?"

"Yes his nickname, the people he's around call him…"

"The Left Hand of God".

**(*8*)**

_**Elite. 7-Foot-8 inches. Armor blue, Ultra class. Probable male. Range 1,945 yards. Pattern of movement, west, approaching Charlie team defense fortification. Wind speed 12 MPH.**_

"Forgive me lord for I have sinned".

The bullet fired out of the barrel and headed for the firing window set up by the weapons user. It took 6 seconds for the piece of death to make successful contact.

_**14.5x114mm armor piercing round penetrates through flesh. Nasomaxillary suture, fractured (bone that connects nose to the head). Cerebellum badly damaged, internal bleeding located in the cranium. Bullet successfully exits the Lamboid suture (Back of the forehead). Subject is now brain dead. Kill. Confirmed.**_

_1,536. _

_**End of Chapter 1**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I'm extremely sorry for the long delay everyone. Let's just say that I had a little argument with Verizon about my internet and cable bill. Long story short they shut off my cable and internet on May 1****st****. I'm being forced to pay these ridiculous amounts of money for barely any use. So as soon as I get my internet back which should be whenever you are reading this, I will update 'Halo: Sniper Chronicles' as soon as I can, which is now. Anyway enjoy.**

**January 1****st****, 2545. The time is 14:30.**

The crosshairs lingered, for merely a few seconds, on the lifeless Elite corpse. His analysis, like always, was right and the enemy ground troop would not be returning to battle ever again. Never again would that alien return to the land of living. Maybe it had a family back on its home planet, waiting anxiously for its return. Now the only thing the family would get is probably some stupid letter telling them how their father/husband died valiantly in the war, fighting the enemy.

The look of shock was evident on the Elites face. His last thought was interrupted suddenly by a bullet to the forehead. A bullet that came out of nowhere, never being able to find out where it came from and who did it. For a second he truly understood why people around him called him by **'The Left Hand of God'**. He had the power to end a living person's life with just the pull of a trigger. An invisible bullet that sent them straight to heaven or hell. The judge, jury and executer.

Sergeant Edward Hernandez shook his head lightly of the ridiculous thoughts. Who gave a shit what happened? In this fucked up war every soldier has a family that they would most likely never see again. People just had to suck it up and expect that when one of their loved ones sign up to go and fight.

_'Focus'_ he scolded himself _'Forget everything, just do what you do best and analyze'_. Sergeant Hernandez's mind immediately expanded. Hundreds upon thousands of pieces of information floated through his working brain. An average AI would be impressed at the speed of this human's brain. Especially compared to the average Marine's brain pattern.

Ok. Start small.

Analyzing surroundings. Currently taking refuge in meeting room 4A, North West corner of floor 48. Building in question, Misriah weapons administration building. Total of 50 floors. As of now civilian population inside was 0. Room 4A is rectangular in shape with glass windows, most of them shattered and a large oak wood table that could probably fit about 30 people at once. Two corpses laid in the corner, covered in their own life juices. Several plasma holes in both the chest and abdomen. Dead long before any UNSC ground intervention. The walls as well were covered in human blood. Their once blue painted was now stained.

_'Good'_ Eddy smirked slightly _'Now go bigger'._

Planet Articus IV Extremely cold climate, snow storms frequent. 15,273 kilometers in diameter, able to hold the same atmosphere as mankind's original planet, Earth. Population just over 500 million, less than 2 percent being any and all military forces. No orbital defense platforms stationed in space and only a single Charon-class light frigate was present at time of Covenant encounter. 4 plus CCS-class cruisers successfully destroyed the UNSC frigate, killing about 75 percent of the sailors on board.

Eddy decided he wouldn't punish himself for the deaths of those on the Charon-class frigate. Seeing as though his expertise wouldn't help in any sort of space fight. In the end it wasn't his decision to make unfortunately.

The Capitol city of Château was the first to feel the wrath of the Covenant. Plasma bombs dropped from the sky while hunting party's scowered the city looking for any and all humans to kill. There was no warning, nothing to give most of them a chance to hide. This city was where he was currently killing the enemy from high a top, his crow's nest. The designated mission he was given was simple. Even though it seemed less than likely, the Marine ground forces were successfully able to force the Covenant out of the city. Creating a timeline for pelicans to land in the middle of the city and evacuate civilians. But just like anyone could have predicted the Covenant came back.

Defense fortifications were set up around the city. But the brass knew the outcome. Eddy knew that a lot of personnel were going to die while defending the city. Not all of the civilians would get out either, a reality that no one would admit out loud, well except for him. It's good for people to say the truth out loud instead of keeping possible important details out. If it hurt the person you were telling then that's too bad.

The city was about 7 miles in radius with hundreds of houses, apartments and hotels. According to his research this capital city was one of the most flourishing in the entire UNSC. But in the end of it all what did that get you? Absolutely fucking nothing. The covenant weren't going to stop invading a city and refrain from glassing it just because the city looked nice. People needed to wake up from their delusional dream and realize the Covenant threat.

After finishing his complete analysis Eddy pulled back on the bolt, entering a new bullet into the chamber for his FN M107 Intervention Rifle. This rifle, completely different from the other sniper models, due to the fact that it was bolt action. Not only that but it was smaller compared to the widely used SRS99AM Anti-Materiel Rifle, coming in at a small 126 cm while the SRS was 168 cm. the scope in his opinion was better and the range. Oh boy…

The range limit for this bad boy was 3,500 yards. Easily kicking the shit out of its larger counterpart. This was what he loved about this rifle the most. Some shots that he knew from experience would never have been made with the SRS were made with the FN M107.

While Eddy was currently day dreaming about his beloved sniper he hadn't noticed quit the snow pile that was forming on the barrel. He scowled and wiped the white powdery substance off into the blowing wind. The climate temperature inside his helmet and suit was really kicking it into overdrive at the moment to try and keep his body temp at an even 98.1 degrees Fahrenheit.

He continued to wipe off the snow that landed on him through the broken window he was aiming through and noticed that the outside temperature was currently negative 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The marines must be freezing their asses just wearing some winter fatigues. Not that he cared in the slightest, its every man for himself out on the battlefield, that's how he saw it.

**New target. Grunt. 4-Foot-3 inches. Minor class. Probable male. Range 1,911 yards. Pattern of movement, east, retreating from detonation of UNSC standard issue fragmentation grenade thrown by an operator inside of Charlie fortification. Wind speed 17 MPH.**

"Forgive me lord for I have sinned".

Sergeant Hernandez pulled the trigger and felt the same kickback as the weapon discharged.

**14.5x114mm armor piercing round successfully collides with tangos methane tank. Small explosion occurs causing the small body to propel into the air 5 feet. Several vital organs pierced by shrapnel, along with multiple rib fractures. Massive internal bleeding present as body makes contact with the hard snow filled ground. Kill. Confirmed.**

_**1,535.**_

Repeating the bullet filling process Sergeant Hernandez took his eyes out of his scope. The sleek silence he once held while neutralizing several targets quickly faded away as the background noise, as he liked to call it, came through his public comm line. Filling his ears with multiple voices.

_"This is Alpha squad."_ The voice of a hysterical female Marine came over the line. _"Our front defensive line has been breached by 50 plus ground troops with vehicle support. Retreating to secondary positions, be advised our numbers are dwindling to the teens, reinforcements are needed immediately."_

Eddy mentally blocked out that communication. Alpha fortification was not in his line of sight. There was nothing that he could do to help.

_"Pelican Delta 323. Gotta 'nother batch of civvies ready to get on the next ride outta here. Taking multiple hits from a few banshees on my six. Engines are at 65 percent. A few escorts would be nice"._

That one was also pushed to the back of his head. Not knowing how to fly a Hornet would not be helpful at all to someone who needs air protection. Also his, what sounded like a southern accent, was irritating him insanely.

Nothing too serious that caught his attention. Even though the UNSC force was about to crumble in around 25 minutes nothing extremely serious was catching his attention. Eddy was about to return to his own peace and quiet when the radio crackled to life once again.

_"Sergeant Hernandez!"_ at the sound of his identification a small patch of curiosity brandished its way into his stomach. Never before had anyone personally called for him. The process was usually someone saying they needed help in general and he would oblige. Without ever actually knowing who saved their ass.

Acting on that curiosity, Sergeant Hernandez slowly brought his hand up to the side of his helmet and pressed down on a black button sitting there. "This is Sergeant Hernandez". His voice was coarse and his throat dry like sandpaper. He needed a good swig of water, it's been well over a day since something to drink. But hey something even as simple as drinking water is a privilege in this war. A privilege many had, except for him of course.

Eddy didn't have time to drink water. He has to kill the Covenant. When everything is all said and done a nice, tall cup full of H2O would be waiting for him on the Heaven on Earth.

_"Sir"_ a deep voice answered him back with moxy and a weird calmness to his tone. _"Corporal McHale reporting from Echo defense fortification."_ Eddy continued to listen to the deep voiced Marine while shimmying himself, aiming 600 yards to the southwest of his original spot of Charlie base. His all Seeing Eye then spot Echo base, the closest base to him and the most fucked up.

A large civilian recreational point, also known as something called a shopping mall, was the defense sight for Echo squadron. Seeing as though it covered about ¼ of a mile in length, it seemed to be a perfect place to have the 200 plus Marines hole up. The once glass filled windows that covered the building were shattered and replaced by scrounged up wood to use as cover. Allowing only the barrels of the weapon to peer out into the open, or more specifically the kill zone.

Plasma fire was heavy. From just a quick look around the area, his estimate number of Covenant converging on the defense fortification was in the three hundreds.

They moved in squads, as usual. 2 Elites, 3 Jackals and an average of 6 or 7 Grunts. They clearly outnumbered the Marines but like a good war strategist, this is where the tactical advantage came in. The squads of aliens had to cross a large parking lot to reach the mall. About 100 feet from the entrance of the mall was a street full of dead Covenant bodies. From that point on there was absolutely no cover for the attacking squadrons. Not even a stray civilian ground transport that one could use for quick defense and get their bearings together.

A main flaw with these Elites was their honor. Ed didn't think anyone in the UNSC noticed it but the Elites would risk their own lives for stupid tasks. He's seen it many times, more then he can count on one finger. For example, when a high ranking Elite official refused to exit his protective tent in the middle of camp. All you had to do is kill one of his _'brothers'_ so to speak. Then watch as the idiot of a leader disregarded everything his personal honor guards said and break out into the open to find the shooter. See? Easy as that.

So when it came to this street full of bodies, the Elite leaders of their own squads would rush in anyway. With no cover Ed was sure that the designated marksmen inside the mall were having a sort of field day with this. Easily picking off the Elites and watching as the Grunts and Jackals went into a frenzy, running in circles, becoming easy targets for the entire Marine force.

Eddy gave it his sign of approval. Even though the building the Marines were holed up in was already starting to melt away from the intense plasma fire, it looked as though Echo fortification would last the longest out of all.

"I have eyes on your position Corporal, what is it you need me to do?"

_**"Grenade! Get down!"**_ Eddy moved his scope back to the building just in time to see 2 plasma grenades attached to one of the window barricades on the second floor. The explosion sound was heard through the comm and so was the defining sound of the outer wall blowing off completely. Compromising several Marines position.

_"Sergeant, sir."_ The man with the deep voice coughed and began his request._ "A Pelican will be here in 1 minute to pick up the wounded. It's going to land on the ceiling of the shopping mall. I'm requesting heavy sniper support as there have been sightings of several enemy forces carrying fuel rod cannons."_

"Copy that Corporal, consider yourself covered from here on out".

Sergeant Hernandez smiled. Time to do what he did best.

Shot after shot equaled kill after kill. No one was safe from his all seeing eye. Some kept moving forward and shooting before being dropped. Others ran, some tried to hide. But in the end the same fate came to those that were selected by his trusty scope. The only thing that he asked in return for all of this of course was that god forgave him for his sins.

By the end of his small spree he had confirmed 17 kills.

_**1,518.**_

The Pelican arrived on schedule. _"Pelican Bravo 832 is on scene and ready to evacuate the wounded"_ the woman pilot's voice cut through the comm line he was connected with to the Corporal. Eddy watched intently as the human air transport safely landed on top of the mall, almost immediately several Marines holding occupied stretchers ran towards the lowering ramp.

The injured were plenty. Eddy knew he needed to get these Marines out of here so they could fight to live another day. Investigating the enemy forces for any primary one targets. His clip only had one bullet left and he felt that if he looked away to reload then he would miss an important target. Sergeant Hernandez was fighting within himself to figure out what to do, reload or just hope and pray for the best.

Everything then was squashed. A red armored Elite emerged from behind one of the burning civilian transports, wielding a fuel rod cannon. His target was without a doubt the bird. There was not a slight twitch of hesitation as Sergeant Edward Hernandez aimed the sights to the appropriate firing window and pulled the trigger.

The bullet hit its mark, as always, and the Elite dropped the gun and itself to the floor. A single large hole in the Lamboid structure. Eddy exhaled and licked the single bead of sweat that trembled at his upper lip. The taste of his salty sweat really reminded himself that he needed that water ASAP.

Then it happened…

That single Grunt that stood next to the Elite before it died continued on with its squad leader's task. Eddy watched it pick up the cannon. He pulled back the bolt and did the same as before, aimed before pulling the trigger and…

Nothing.

A 14.5x114mm armor piercing round did not exit the barrel in a fiery haze. At first Ed couldn't figure out why his gun didn't shoot and just like that, he remembered. His gun didn't fire because he didn't reload it.

With unpronounced speed Sergeant Hernandez looked away from his scope, quickly taking out and discarding the empty mag. Then just as fast entering the new fully loaded magazine. Taking aim again, something he now wished he didn't do, Eddy watched as everything happened in an instance.

The Grunt successfully picked up the cannon and just before an armor piercing round went through his fore head, two large balls of plasma were fired.

The Pelican was fully loaded and taking off. The plasma balls made direct contact to the metal hull of the bird. One hit the left engine and the other obliterated the left wing. Plasma started to corrode the metal and the Pelican couldn't handle the sudden damage.

**"Mayday, mayday, mayday. This is Pelican Bravo 832. The left wing is fried, altitude is dropping fast. I'm losing her!"** The damaged Pelican started a death spin as it approached the unforgiving ice tundra floor. Suddenly the left engine imploded and started a fire in the holding area. Screams of injured Marines being burned alive infiltrated the comm line.** "Fire! Out! Put it out! Left engine is dark, its no use. We're going down 300 feet North East of Echo defense fortification, Brace-"**

The Pelican hit the ground at an excessive speed of 20 mph and exploded into a fiery inferno in the middle of the Covenant advances. Pieces of the metal bird scattered around landing on top of a few Grunts while also covering a few Elites in the deathly orange flames. There were no survivors in that crash.

Eddy felt sick just looking at the wreck. "Corporal McHale. How many were in that Pelican?"

_"Including the pilot's sir, 30 operators of the United Nations Space Command"._

The cold felt like it finally kicked in. His suit was compressed tight, impossible for any kind of wind to squeeze through. There was only one logical explanation for this sudden drop in body temperature and he prayed to the lord that it wasn't true.

Looking away from the scope slowly, Eddy craned his head to the left. What he saw made him start to hyperventilate almost immediately._ 'She promised'_ he thought to himself as he couldn't pull his eyes away. _'She promised that she would never do this to me out here'._

In the corner of the room. Standing next to one of the dead corpses of an older gentleman was a small child, girl to be more specific. She was dressed in a sleeping night gown, its color was a snow white, like the weather outside. Eddy couldn't see her face at the moment as her head was pointing down at the ground, along with the fact black hair was grown out so long that the ends of her hair reached just above her bellybutton. The pale skin had bruises covering both her legs and arms. The little girl was simply standing there, not moving and not saying a single word, just looking down.

Eddy felt fear envelope his core. "Please" he genuinely begged, "I am sorry please don't, not here".

A snapping sound broke his trance. His trap was triggered at last, it was about time a squad was sent to dispose of him. Eddy looked to the door behind him for a mere second and then quickly looked to the corner once more. The little girl was gone, the wind simply blowing snow where she once stood.

The fear left just like the girl, blowing in the wind. With that behind him, Eddy prepared for some guests. He picked up his trusty bolt action rifle and holstered it onto one of the metal clamps on his back, deciding that it was time to take out his other toy.

Standing next to the entrance of the door, Eddy pulled out his pump action shotgun. Used specifically for these types of moments. For a few minutes he played the waiting game, hoping with each passing second that his enemy would hurry up and enter already.

He got his wish at last when a foot print suddenly appeared in the snow in the threshold of his door. Jumping forward, he used his weight to his advantage and tackled the cloaked assailant to the floor. He quickly placed his shotgun high enough and pulled the trigger. All of his scattered bullets successfully made contact with the head of an Elite, not just any Elite though. He was currently on top of a headless Zealot.

Its orange dented armor was now covered in its own purple and blue life juices. Eddy was surprised, was he really getting that much attention in the Covenant? So much that they sent a Zealot to finish him off.

The sound of crunching filled the room. _'Not just a single Zealot either'._

Sergeant Hernandez rolled to the right just as an energy sword, which seemed to come out of nowhere, came swinging down. The light sword penetrated the chest plate of the dead Zealot. Eddy hopped up onto his feet just as the cloaking device of the second Zealot de activated.

With a roar of anger the Zealot removed his weapon from his comrade's chest and charged forward at the sniper. Eddy removed his required silenced pistol from his hip holster, his shotgun having slipped from his hands during the roll, and fired several times. The Zealots shields flared slightly from the bullets but didn't stop its charge.

The Alien lowered its shoulder and rammed into Sergeant Hernandez, sending the human backwards and into a wall. A small crater was formed from the impact and he felt as though his head was spinning uncontrollably, there was a small probability he had a concussion as well.

The Zealot didn't give him any time to regain his senses and stabbed forward at Eddy's chest. The hardened ODST sniper quickly sidestepped to the right and turned the tables on his foe. He pushed the Zealot into the crater he once stood in and quickly pinned his right hand to the wall, then like a good strategist Sergeant Hernandez fired his remaining seven shots of M6S ammo into the hand that was holding the energy sword.

Another roar of rage left the mandibles of the Zealot as the sword he wielded flickered until it was deactivated permanently from the damage. Breaking free of the puny humans grasp, the Zealot delivered a punch that would put most Spartans strength to shame. It landed on Eddy's visor and sent him spiraling back about 5 feet to the floor.

Eddy felt the warm liquid gushing down his face. That punch might have just completely shattered his nose. The feeling of blood was a little foreign to Eddy, seeing as though the last time he bled was back at training camp years ago. This Zealot was giving him one helluva fight that's for sure. A fight that he hasn't had in years, it made him feel a little rejuvenated. Too bad it was over now.

The Zealot was slowly walking towards him with a second energy sword drawn, this one a lot smaller in comparison to the other. Like it was a personal dagger for use as a backup. Eddy waited patiently on his stomach for the Zealot to get closer and just as it was about to strike down Eddy rolled onto his back and pulled down on the trigger.

The shotgun blast hit the Zealot in the chest and completely tore through its heavy shield. The pellets tore through its skin afterwards and tore up the internal organs. The blast was big enough to send the Zealots orange armored body back and into the air a few feet.

A loud crash resonated through the office as the wooden desk broke under the dead weight of the Zealot. Eddy wasted no time after killing the two Zealots, he collected his armaments and made sure all of his weapons were reloaded. The last time he checked, Zealots always bring reinforcements with them as a precaution. More trouble was on the way. It was time to get out.

Typing in a private frequency Eddy kept his ears open to a larger area around him. The line was connected instantly, "Pelican Alpha 111 this is Sergeant Hernandez, the crow's nest has been compromised. Requesting immediate evacuation."

_"Roger that Sergeant Hernandez"_ a male with a stuffy British accent answered, his tone a little bored. It should be that way, Alpha 111 was his own private Pelican. Only authorized to pick him up and not others just in case a quick exit was needed. _"Things sound pretty quiet in the air over by your position. I'll be setting her down on the roof of the Misriah building, be ready in 2 minutes."_

Eddy simply cut the line after that, knowing that was all he needed to hear and the pilot didn't need any form of response. Now with a sense of determination, Eddy started his trek towards the stairs that would lead him to the roof and safety.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Back with more. WARNING POSSIBLE TRIGGER, SELF-HARM and DISFIGURATION.**

The mild snowstorm did little to disrupt the rather smooth flying of the Pelican. The frost covered the armored exterior and the freezing winds tried to enter as well. This bird is air tight, nothing gets through the exterior unless it's blown wide open. And few things in this universe could do something like that, maybe some plastic explosives, or a well-placed rocket and something as radical as a plasma… ball…

Eddy smacked his helmet in frustration. Forgetting about the destroyed Pelican with all those injured marines in it is going to be difficult. The screams he heard while the flesh of those human beings were being burned off, it's, something he may never forget. Something that would haunt his every dream, something that would more than likely be the worst scene he has ever come across in his 8 years of fighting the Covenant.

That wasn't what was bugging him the most though. Here he was, sitting in the holding area of the Pelican. His hands placed on the helmet where his temples were located and staring at the floor like he was seeing the metal for the first time in his life. Slightly shaking with eyes wide, Eddy knew what was going to happen any minute now. The judging was about to begin and with the critical accident of the Pelican, she was not going to take it easy on him much longer. _'I can't take this much longer'_ Eddy thought to himself as the idea of more 'punishment' swirled in his head like a rabid disease.

The kill count has gone back up from the deaths of the 30 brave soldiers. 1,546. How much longer could he do this for? Eddy found his eye sight shift to the right, his slightly dilated pupils found the grip of his M6D pistol, sticking out of his right boot. It was tantalizing to him, calling out to him in a way. Telling him to just put an end to it right now. Get out of this, out of the war, out of his pain filled life and out of this living hell.

Before his hand could even move off of his helmet and ponder his new found plan, the eerie cold returned. Quickly looking up from the floor he found another person sitting on the other side of the Pelican. The little girl was sitting there in the same outfit, it never changed from the snow white night gown. Her head, acting like his a moment ago, staring at the metal floor and her long black hair covering her face. Eddy suddenly jumped back, hoping that he could get farther away from the girl, but his hopes were crushed when he felt the wall of the bird hit his armored back. Sweat poured down his body like a running faucet and now his suit was spewing out cold air to stop the seemingly out of nowhere heat to cease.

The cold air did little to nothing against the sweat. The girl sitting across from him sat in silence, probably the most frightening part as usually she was always talking. It was too much to handle, Sergeant Hernandez's suit sent a warning to his HUD telling him that his heart rate is spiking to dangerous levels.

"Cl-Claire?"

Eddy again jumped slightly, this time at the sound of his own voice. He was never this on edge during one of his judging's, but he knew this one was going to be different for sure.

"You're worthless". The girl, known as Claire, stood slowly from her seat. She walked forward slowly towards Sergeant Hernandez each step becoming slower and slower.

Eddy's throat started to dry up and he was in desperate need for some water and a cold shower. Each step closer to him made his breaths shorter and shorter. This effect she had on him is literally insane, a top sniper in the Navy is currently cowering away from an 8 year old girl. To others maybe that would seem to be comical or simply put an embarrassment. Those people didn't know anything about Claire, if they knew they would understand.

The 8 year old girl reached her destination, right in front of the cowering ODST. "How could you possibly be getting any weaker?" the little girls voice was cold and mature with just the right amount of authoritative tone set to it, "You watched like a helpless **BITCH!** While those people were burned and killed. Then you have the audacity to beg for where and when I judge you?"

Her head shot up at the end of her small rant and Eddy found himself cringe, like he always did. Claire's right eye was dangling out of its socket, the eye still attached, holding on by a thread. Splatters of bruises and blood lined her mouth, neck and fore head. The cherry on top of the cake was the large hole in her fore head, giving clear view to her scorched brain. Eddy still could net get used to the way she looked, the horrors this girl has seen is something no one her age should go through, it's too late for that unfortunately.

"What's wrong daddy?" a giggle escaped her bloody lips, some red liquid dropping to the floor. "You don't like the way I look still."

He hated hearing those words, "You're not my daughter" he retaliated, getting slight confidence back "Not anymore."

Almost immediately splitting pain ruptured through Eddy's brain as the thought of screaming out to the world came to mind. The pilot would definitely hear his cries of pain and that would mean trouble, no one should know about this and Eddy will do whatever is necessary to keep it a secret, and he means anything.

Claire smirked and continued to administer the pain to her weak and pathetic daddy. "You can't even save yourself let alone those poor, poor people on board the Pelican. You're talking back will be put into account with your punishment".

The head splitting pain stopped and in what seemed like years, Eddy was able to take a long inhale of some much needed oxygen. He started to cough up the flem in his throat while dropping to his knees, the idea of taking off his helmet glanced across his thoughts but the even slightest thought of Claire seeing his face diminished that idiotic idea to the back of his head. He more than likely looked like a wreck and the last thing he wanted was for Claire to taunt him about something else.

"It seems fit that 32 seemingly deep marks are to be made for this mishap, 30 for the deaths of 30 innocent and defenseless marines and 2 for the back talking."

His heart beat started to increase more upon hearing what his future punishment would be. It's impossible! How was he supposed to shoot the Covenant with weakened arms, especially after 32, it's insane. It's almost like she was doing this on purpose, trying to milk as much pain and misery out of him before the end of all of this. _'Not anymore'_

With speed that would rival a Spartans, Eddy stood to his feet and tore off his helmet, forcefully pushing the barrel of the silenced magnum to his right temple. He expected some sort of reaction from Claire, like an eye of disgust or some more of the brain pulsating headache to stop him from shooting himself but he got neither. No what he got was something far worse, something that would without a doubt scar him for the rest of his short life.

"Go ahead" Claire had a wicked grin as she spoke with cruelty in her tone. **"Shoot yourself. Blow your fucking brains out all over the interior. Cover the seats with your own filthy life juices."** Eddy felt his arm start to shake as he took in the words from his once daughter. "Well! Go on! End it already! That's what you want right? To end everything and forget about the past, forget all the people you watched die from the hands of the Covenant and end the torment from me. You could kill yourself and finish this off. But. I'll let you know right now Sergeant Hernandez, if you decide to kill yourself now, I will make you wish that you stayed alive and fought the Covenant. You think this is bad? No, it's not, imagine me haunting your every second. Because there is now way in the pits of hell that I will let your soul rest without completing the task I provided with you."

This is too much. Eddy's arm was shaking and the gun felt a thousand times heavier then it usually felt. His every second being haunted in the afterlife? There's no way, she has to be bluffing, it's impossible for her to do anything to me once I'm dead. She's lying.

But…

What if she's not? What if Claire could really torment his soul for all of eternity or something like that? No one knows what happens after you pass on from this world. Is there actually a Heaven? A Hell? Do people just die and that's that? You never see the loved ones that passed on before you, just darkness for ever and ever? Thinking about it like that made Eddy start to feel heavily depressed, he hoped that one day he would be able to see people that he no longer can see in this world.

Eddy released his grip on the pistol. The barrel leaving an unsightly red ring on his pale temple, which would surely fade in an hour or two. The side arm made contact with the metal floor, followed quickly by two armored knees.

Back on the ground, Eddy looked up at Claire. "It seems you have made your choice daddy. Now you will either comply or I can make this punishment a whole lot fun for me." A twinge of head pain came back for a mili second.

"No Claire." Eddy put a forced smile on his face as the angst started eating away at him. "I will act out my punishment once I get back on the _'Heaven on Earth'._ So please you don't have to baby over me for any longer today."

Claire seemed pleased with that answer, so pleased that she genuinely smirked. With a roll of her eyes she answered while starting to fade away. "Very good Sergeant. But first what I really need you to do is wake up. And don't forget about what we talked about, if you don't want to have a repeat at this get stronger. Or else it's not going to be pretty if I bring in you know who…"

Eddy didn't move a muscle out of fear. If 'she' was involved then the idea of being tormented by just Claire for an eternity was starting to sound like a god send. But getting a little off topic what did she mean by wake up?

Just before her entire body disappeared the Pelican started to shake uncontrollably and the severe deathly pain made another appearance as this time Eddy wasn't able to hold in the blood curdling scream. He started to bang his fists on the ground as suddenly droplets of blood began to roll off his face, coming from his ears, mouth and even eyes. A small puddle started to form around his knees.

The cabin temperature suddenly decreased by 30 degrees as the ramp began to open, allowing the cold snowstorm inside. Eddy's life juices started to roll down towards the opened ramp as the Pelican started to ascend supposedly into the atmosphere. It kept getting higher and higher. Sergeant Hernandez was going to be forcefully thrown out of the bird if this increase in height continued, what the hell is the pilot thinking?

Eddy carefully stood, the grave pain from before no longer claiming him, and allowed his knees to regain their feeling before slowly making his way to the cockpit. Every step he took got increasingly harder as the Pelican continued to angle itself higher. Was the pilot trying to kill him?

By the time he reached the closed door of the cockpit the Pelican was completely flying upwards at a 90 degree angle. Holding on to the side of one of the seats he was about to shove open the metal door and yell at the dumb asshole flying when the unexpected happened. The entire front of the Pelican erupted in a fiery explosion, no doubt claiming the life of the pilot. The immense force behind the explosion rocked Sergeant Hernandez's core and sent him backwards.

He panicked as his hand reached for anything to latch onto as the opened ramp got closer and closer. Over and over he tried to grab a seat, handlebar or anything that could save his life. Sergeant Hernandez didn't grab anything.

His body flew out into the cold storm and like a ton of bricks, picked up speed as it broke through atmosphere. Eddy yelled and screamed as the rush of wind surrounded him and seemed to take control of his flailing body. The Pelican seemed to continue its journey into space and Sergeant Hernandez merely held out his hand, not wanting to die of falling. If he was to die then let it be in combat, fighting against the Covenant war machine, to be remembered why and how he died.

Like a helpless child he kept closing his fingers around the outline of the pelican as it flew farther and farther away. Wishing that it would come back and catch him or something, anything to save his life. The frost started to cover his armor and freeze his joints in place. His legs went first as he stopped kicking around, then his torso and arms no longer being able to outstretch his hand.

The frost etched the corners of his VISR and continued its fast coverage. In a matter of seconds the cold took the entire helmet and the only thing Eddy could see was a bright white.

…

…

**"SERGEANT HERNANDEZ!"**

With a startle the veteran sniper's eye lids flew open, followed by increased laboring breathing, almost like he was wheezing after running a few kilometers. He was breathing that's a good sign, Checking his hands and giving them a tight test squeeze he came to a conclusion that he was in fact still alive. Was it all a dream?

The judging was without a doubt not fake but seeing as though he was sitting in the Pelican still and not free falling towards the planet like a meteor, he must have dozed off slightly. His job never includes such things as resting or sleeping, staying up a few days straight never hurt anybody, and you never know when a target could be stubborn in his safety building and or tent. Hiding out for a few days before making the move outside, only to receive a well-placed bullet to the head.

"Sergeant!" Eddy shook his head of any thoughts regarding his dream or Claire. It was time to get serious again. "I've got Captain Langford on the horn, says it's important." Standing from the hard metal seat Sergeant Hernandez walked into the cockpit to see the pilot fiddling with a few switches.

"Bring him through". Another switch was flipped and a console on the dashboard lit up blue as a figure stood there, non-other than the Captain of the UNSC Heaven on Earth.

_"Good to see you in piece Sergeant"._ Eddy snickered at his superiors comment. When it came to things such as respect and following orders of men and women of higher rank, you could say that Sergeant Hernandez was more on the insubordinate side. Feeling that this war between the Humans and Covenant isn't won by Captains and Admirals either sitting on ships or Orbital Defense Stations, no, he believes it's won by the soldiers on the ground. Even if the percentage of ground victories is unfathomably low. None the less you would never find him following orders from a high ranking official that sits on the sidelines. Knowing damn well that he could be court martialed and potentially kicked out of the UNSC, but Eddy wasn't stupid. He is without a doubt a big asset to the war, kicking him out of the fight would be the dumbest idea any Admiral could think of. Sergeant Hernandez knew he holds all the cards, for now at least, no one knows what the future holds.

Though when it involved Captain Langford. He is the only Captain in the UNSC that Sergeant Hernandez would follow orders from. A fairly well built man that is both comical at times and strict when necessary. Commanding the men and women of his ship with the right amount of hard will and laid back attitude, as well as the track record. Once a highly decorated ODST Captain turned Captain of his own ship 3 years ago after being offered by Admiral Mikhailovich. Dozens of battles and thousands of kills is the right type of man to make Captain of any vast amount of people.

The hologram of Captain Langford swayed slightly as the man lost his balance, "It looks as though you're ship is no longer in one piece, sir."

_"You know"_ Langford fixed his officers cap from sliding off the side of his head before re balancing himself in front of the veteran sniper. _"You got some real funny jokes at times Sergeant, but unfortunately the stage and microphone are both unavailable at the time."_

"New orders sir?" If there was already new orders then that either means more assassinations or another colony was attacked by the Covenant. Eddy really hoped for the first choice.

_"I wouldn't say orders Sergeant, more like a warning to you and your pilot."_ At the sound of this not only Eddy perked up but so did the lone pilot. _"The Heaven on Earth is under major Covenant attack."_

"Casualties sir?"

_"Minimal, Covie bastards hit us with our eyes shut and got one of the engines. We were sitting ducks out in space, sent banshees and phantoms in to take out our defenses. Dumb bastards must've forgotten about the longswords, fly boys mopped up the trash and the MAC gun swept up the cruiser. A few pilots and engineers working in the engine bay were killed. Should be safe to enter the docking bay now."_

Sergeant Hernandez nodded his head in approval as he looked out the view port to see the large Human cruiser floating in the darkness of space._ "Pelican you are cleared for landing welcome home"._

"Thank you Captain."

Eddy believed the chat to be over and turned away from the console, _"One more thing Sergeant. I wish to see you in the medical wing after you land."_

Eddy froze in his tracks. No, no, no the last thing he needed was the medical wing. They would find evidence of what he is doing. They would call him crazy and unfit for duty. Probably send him off to some insane asylum to live out the rest of his days. No way was that going to happen, he needed to tell off the Captain.

"Sir I-"

**_"Slip space rupture detected."_**

The voice of an A.I broke through the conversation as three CCS Covenant battlecruisers and one Flag ship emerged from Slip space. "Holy shit" the pilot breathed out as the docking bay of the Heaven on Earth was getting closer.

_"Darby get those MAC's warmed up again and I want all pilots in their longswords out there to protect us while we get repaired, we're bringing the ship up to defense code Alpha, let's go move-"_ Captain Langford cut out.

Hundreds of Covenant air craft bellowed out of the hangars and headed straight for the lone human ship. Two banshees were following their brothers when a lone human ship caught their eyes. Flying rather slowly and towards the damaged vessel. They pressed down on their thrusters and cruised right for the ship. Locking on and firing away.

It came as less of a surprise as it should've when the Pelican started rocking back and forth from multiple plasma hits. Eddy held on to the threshold of the door between the cockpits and holding area just as an explosion almost caused the Pelican to do a barrel roll.

"Fuck! That was the right engine and thruster." The pilot held onto the shaking control stick as the metal bird started to lose control. The docking bay was so close less than half a kilometer away. The defense cannons should have picked up the two enemy heat signatures trailing the friendly bird by now. Even if the amount of hostile air craft was a little overwhelming.

Another explosion rocked the ship this time sending Eddy to the floor and the pilot to smack his face into the dash board in front of him, blood started dripping out of his forehead and mouth. "The left engine is fried, we're going down!"

The Pilot started to freak out. He barely had any sort of control over the Pelican, the metal bird started to perform barrel rolls over and over again. The only sort of control the pilot had was to slightly tilt the direction of the Pelican towards the docking bay. Trying to at least crash land inside the ship instead of his body being taken by the void of space.

Eddy simply stayed on the floor before flying to the ceiling and then flying back to the floor, repeating once, twice, three times and maybe even until his 13th time when it stopped.

Longsword pilots began to take off, one by one entering the battle to defend their ship. As the deck crew started to notice the number of Longsword's decrease meaning almost all of them were currently in battle, they looked out into space.

Watching as a few of their brothers in arms successfully took down Covenant air craft, each time soliciting a _'Hooray'_ from the crew hands. Praying for their friends safety, one in particular searching for the Longsword that had large blue numbers of '_001'_ representing the first model on board the Heaven on Earth and the best long sword pilot on board.

He wasn't able to locate it, but he was able to locate was something else more dire. It looked like a Pelican and it seemed to be barrel rolling continuously. More importantly it was headed right for the entrance of the docking bay, with the back part on fire. Putting two and two together caused panic.

"Everyone watch out!"

Now everyone looked closely and witnessed the Pelican coming right for them. Running in all different directions to what could possibly be either protection or solitude. 30 seconds later the pelican flew through the bay opening and started to screech along the floor at an excess speed of 80 MPH, heading right in the direction of a young male crew hand, sliding right over the top of him killing him almost instantly and without scream.

The Pelican hit a loading station and was flipped over onto the top and continued its death slide, claiming two more people in a fiery/crushing phase before hitting the back wall of the docking bay. Sending a large rupture throughout the ship.

Well it was one hell of an entrance.

**A/N: More coming soon**


End file.
